Television signals transmitted by geostationary satellites are generally received on the ground by parabolic dish antennae. The strength of the signal being transmitted determines the size or diameter of the dish required for reception. Weaker signals require larger dishes. Many signals require a dish having a diameter of three meters or more for proper reception.
It is anticipated, however, that the strength of the signal will be increasingly stronger as more satellites are put into orbit, thereby reducing the size of the dish required for good reception. The smaller dishes will probably cost less than the relatively larger dishes generally in use today, and it is anticipated that the reduced cost and size of parabolic dish antennae will increase the popularity of these antennae among homeowners, many of whom will probably want to mount their dish antenna on the roof of their home. The structure for mounting dish antennae on the roofs of dwellings has to be capable of supporting the dish on a variety of rooftops of varying shapes and slopes in a fixed, unvarying preselected attitude because proper reception requires that the dish accurately maintain its preset alignment with the transmitting satellite.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,502 issued Apr. 9, 1985 to Lyle W. Hovland for DISH ANTENNAE MOUNTING STRUCTURE discloses a roof mount with angularly adjustable components specifically intended for use in mounting dish antennae on a variety of rooftops of varying slopes, but the mounting structure of Hovland is attached by bolts to individual rafters spaced from each other beneath the roof. This type of attachment to the roof may be unsteady in high winds and is objectionable because it depends for support on a relatively small area of the portion of the roof it spans.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,303 issued June 18, 1963 to Myron P. Belger for ANTENNA SUPPORTING BRACKETS shows a mount for a television antenna which clamps over the eave of a roof to avoid drilling holes in the roof. Belger's roof mount is not intended for use with dish antennae and the single bolt used to tighten the clamp would be insufficient to provide the steady support required for dish antennae.